


Ready or Not

by icarusmoon



Series: Appreciation Weeks [3]
Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, New Dream Appreciation Week, Pregnancy, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:21:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24364243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icarusmoon/pseuds/icarusmoon
Summary: "You’re…what?""I’m pregnant." She held up the pregnancy test and waved it in a futile attempt at humor. "It’s, uh…It’s positive."He looked down at the pregnancy test, then back up at Rapunzel, doing a rapid triple-take before speaking again."It’s…positive?"(Or: A nervous Rapunzel tells Eugene she's pregnant.)
Relationships: Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel
Series: Appreciation Weeks [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1759075
Comments: 5
Kudos: 45





	Ready or Not

**Author's Note:**

> This was my contribution for "We're Having a Baby" during New Dream Appreciation Week. There's no explicit content, but content warning for an unexpected pregnancy and all that implies.

“Rapunzel? You okay in there?”

Rapunzel didn’t answer. Instead, she took a deep, shaky breath and buried her face in her hands. She had been sitting on the cool bathroom tile, staring at the two pink lines and sobbing for God knows how long. No wonder he was worried. She had told Eugene she needed to run an errand (i.e, buy a pregnancy test), and had immediately locked herself in the bathroom. 

And then, of course, she had gotten the result she had both suspected and dreaded.

Positive.

Pregnant.

What were they going to _do?_

“Sweetheart?” Eugene said softly, knocking on the door. 

“Um.” Rapunzel wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and took another deep breath in an attempt to stay calm. “I’m okay. Everything’s—everything’s fine, babe.”

A pause. That meant Eugene knew she was lying, and she didn’t want to lie, but she also didn’t know how to tell him the truth. It’s not like they had been _trying_ to have kids. They weren’t ready for kids, and they weren’t sure they ever wanted to be. Parenting was a sensitive subject for them both. Some of their friends had balked at the thought of the Fitzherberts never having children (”You’d be such good parents!”) and it frustrated Rapunzel to no end. She firmly believed their hesitation was perfectly reasonable. After all, Eugene grew up in the foster system. Rapunzel was an abused runaway. Neither of them exactly had shining examples of parents. 

Even if they _had _had happy childhoods, their thoughts on procreating was their business and theirs alone, Rapunzel thought. She scowled at the pregnancy test and sighed. There was no use. She had to tell him. Maybe now. Better to get it over with, she figured. Like ripping off a Band-Aid.__

__Eugene knocked on the door again. “Rapunzel, I’m getting worried.”_ _

__Well. That made two of them._ _

__Rapunzel finally stood up and opened the door, hiding the pregnancy test behind her back. Eugene was still standing right outside, his eyebrows furrowed with concern. “Hi,” she said. She hoped she sounded normal._ _

__“Hey,” Eugene said quietly. He reached out to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear, and then gave her a soft kiss on her forehead. “You feeling okay, Sunshine?”_ _

__“Um—”_ _

__“Are you feeling sick again?”_ _

__Rapunzel smiled weakly. She did feel sick, but not in the way Eugene thought. For the past few weeks, she had been chalking up some of her symptoms to being sick. Eugene had been the ever-supportive partner, of course, asking her if she needed anything from the drugstore and reminding her to get plenty of rest. She hated suddenly knowing it was all for nothing._ _

__“Um. No.”_ _

__Eugene frowned._ _

__She tried again. “Kind of?”_ _

__Her husband sighed and ran a hand through his hair, the way he always did when he was stressed. “Rapunzel, this is getting…it’s getting out of hand. This has been going on for a while—”_ _

__“I know, but Eugene—”_ _

__“I just—”_ _

__“Eugene.”_ _

__“I know you don’t think it’s a big deal, but I’m worried about you, because you’re clearly not feeling well—”_ _

__“Eugene.”_ _

__“I can call the doctor if you want to lie down for a while—“_ _

___“Eugene!”_ _ _

___“What?”_ _ _

__“I’m…I’m pregnant.”_ _

__Eugene blinked. Once. Twice._ _

__Maybe ripping off the Band-Aid wasn’t the best approach._ _

__“You’re…what?”_ _

__“I’m pregnant.” She held up the pregnancy test and waved it in a futile attempt at humor. “It’s, uh…It’s positive.”_ _

__He looked down at the pregnancy test, then back up at Rapunzel, doing a rapid triple-take before speaking again._ _

__“It’s…positive?”_ _

__Rapunzel nodded._ _

__“As in…not negative?”_ _

__“I mean…that’s usually what positive means, yeah.”_ _

__Eugene ran a hand through his hair again and slowly walked towards their bed, as if in a daze. She couldn’t blame him. It didn’t feel real, somehow. Rapunzel set the pregnancy test on the bathroom counter and followed, sitting next to him at the edge of the bed._ _

__“So…The past few weeks make a little more sense now, huh?” Eugene asked, raising his eyebrow._ _

__“You could say that.”_ _

__“I mean—I know we—” Eugene blushed, and it was so unexpected and so unlike him that Rapunzel couldn’t help but laugh. “But _how?”__ _

__Rapunzel shrugged. “I guess we weren’t as careful as we thought.”_ _

__Eugene took her hand in his. “Well, Sunshine,” he said softly, “How do you feel?”_ _

__“I’m…I’m terrified.”_ _

__Rapunzel’s eyes filled with tears, and Eugene brought her hand to his lips and pressed a soft kiss to her knuckles._ _

__“I never—I mean, I didn’t have a mom. Not really. That’s why I left. I never dreamed of being a mother, because I hated the woman who called herself my mother. I don’t even know what a good mother _does.”__ _

__Eugene’s eyes softened._ _

__“I’m ill-equipped,” Rapunzel said, letting out a sob. “Thinking about being a mother just brings back all these awful memories. I didn’t even know how to help myself for most of my life. How am I going to raise a child?”_ _

__“Rapunzel. Sweetheart. Look at me.”_ _

__Rapunzel lifted her head and let Eugene cup her cheek. “If we do this,” he said gently, “You’re going to be an amazing mother. Because that’s who you are. You’re _good._ No matter what.” _ _

__She squeezed her eyes shut as another tear fell down her face._ _

__“And hey,” Eugene whispered, leaning forward to press their foreheads together. “You wouldn’t be doing this alone, remember?”_ _

__Rapunzel managed to smile through her tears. “We do make a good team.”_ _

__Eugene grinned back at her. “Mmhm. I love that about us.”_ _

__“What about you?” Rapunzel asked, leaning back as she wiped her eyes. “How do you feel?_ _

__“Well,” Eugene said slowly, “I’m also terrified. And I’ve been pretty neutral about the whole kid thing, too.” He paused. “But I…I also think it’s a chance to give someone what I didn’t have. What we didn’t have.”_ _

__Rapunzel hadn’t thought about it like that, and something like hope bloomed in her chest. She thought of all the stories Eugene had told her about taking care of his younger foster siblings. She imagined waking up in the middle of the night, only for Eugene to tell her to go back to sleep and head for the nursery._ _

__“You’d be a good dad,” she said softly. “I know you would be.”_ _

__“True. I’m good at most things,” Eugene said, nudging Rapunzel’s shoulder as she giggled. A cocky Eugene was a good sign, she thought. It was a sign of normalcy. A sign that maybe things would be okay._ _

__Okay just felt very far away._ _

__“Do you really think we can do this?” Rapunzel asked, biting her lip. “I mean, even if we’d be good parents? I don’t feel ready. I don’t even know if I’m _happy.”__ _

__“Well, babe,” Eugene said, leaning forward to give her a quick kiss, “I’m no expert, but I think that’s normal for unexpected pregnancies.”_ _

__“You don’t think I’m horrible?”_ _

__“I could never.”_ _

__Relief flooded through her, and Rapunzel leaned against Eugene’s shoulder. She gave a contented sigh and closed her eyes. This was good, Rapunzel thought. This made the prospect of motherhood less terrifying. “I love you.”_ _

__“I love you too, Sunshine.”_ _

__She opened her eyes and tilted her head, looking up at Eugene’s smiling face. “So,” she started, raising an eyebrow. “I guess….we’re going to be parents?”_ _

__Eugene’s smile grew wider. “Yeah,” he said, “Yeah, I guess we are.”_ _


End file.
